2008 Canyon Wind Desert Rosé, $14

Last night, I decided that rather than finishing the bottle of Barefoot Zinfandel, I wanted to try something a little lighter. I had been chilling my Canyon Wind Desert Rosé in the fridge for the past several days, waiting for an excuse to open it. Figuring that the first Tuesday in March was a good enough reason to uncork a special bottle of wine, I did just that.

Let me just say, what a way to celebrate the first hints of spring! This Rosé evoked the sense of warmer days to come, something that I'm very much looking forward to.

Canyon Wind's Desert Rosé is described on the label as a semi-sweet wine, and that it is--pleasantly sweet, with just enough acidity to balance it out. The nose is ripe with aromas of white grape, strawberries, and just a trace of peach. On the palate, there is plenty of red berry (strawberry & raspberry), as well as a touch of peach rounding out the background.

My Grade: ++++

All in all, this is the best rose/blush wine I've tasted thus far. The bright sweetness and berry flavor pairs extremely well with the rosy pinkish-red color...For some reason, most rose wines are always a tad disappointing for me, just because something that is such a joyfully feminine color should be at least a little sweet, in my mind anyway.

Maybe that's just me, but then again, wine is a highly subjective subject. What tastes good to one person may repel another, as with anything else that draws an opinion. I've stressed it before and I'll say it again--just because I may like (or dislike) a wine, doesn't mean that you will love (or hate) it too. I think that should be Lesson #1 in any wine tasting class--"good" wine is whatever tastes good to you, not what someone else hails as "worthy". Lesson #2, and the whole purpose behind this blog: "good" wine doesn't have to cost an arm or a leg, or even a pinky finger. A $100 bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is worthless to you if you don't like the oaky, dry flavors of Cabernet, and a $5 Riesling can taste better than bottles that cost twice or three times as much. It's all about what you like. And finding out what that may be is a process of trial and error, but I assure you that the journey will be as good or better than the end result.